CVE-2021-1488
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software for Firepower 1000 and 2100 Series Appliances Command Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying operating system (OS). This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted upgrade package file to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying OS.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software for Firepower 1000 and 2100 Series Appliances Command Injection Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying operating system (OS). This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted upgrade package file to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying OS.
- Record
CVE-2021-1488- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-6955
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying operating system (OS). This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted upgrade package file to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying OS.
- Record
EUVD-2021-6955- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wj4x-hm5q-r6w4
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and...
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying operating system (OS). This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted upgrade package file to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying OS.
- Record
GHSA-wj4x-hm5q-r6w4- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A vulnerability in the upgrade process of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying operating system (OS). This vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by uploading a crafted upgrade package file to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to inject commands that could be executed with root privileges on the underlying OS.
- Record
CVE-2021-1488- CVSS 3.1
- 6.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-77, CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-1488 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.7) in Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software, published April 29, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.26%, the 17th percentile. No source names a fixed version.